Featured | Aapplemint

My Easy Mutton Biryani

All, Featured, Non-Vegetarian 9 Responses »

Oct 302012

This post comes up a bit later than it was meant to be. But here it is anyways … Eid Ul Adha- Festival of Sacrifice, is an important day celebrated by Muslims worldwide, to honour the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his young first born son Ismail as an act of submission to God’s command and his son’s acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Ibrahim a ram to sacrifice instead. So Muslims all over the world on this day, sacrifice in the name of God, lamb, sheep, cows … and then give the meat to all near and dear ones, to people less fortunate and those to whom it is a rare treat. Great feasts are prepared this day and bonding over food is a ritual one looks forward to. For me today I did something I’ve never dared to before. I made 10 kgs of Mutton Biryani. Biryani is celebratory food, made during festivals, in weddings …. I remember one of the best biryani’s I ever ate was at my cousins wedding. Well she was married in Jersey and she had one occasion here in Mumbai. Actually there were two things that were memorable at the wedding, one ofcourse the biryani and the second the wedding gown from David’s Bridal. It was stunning. The Biryani was like some I’ve never had before, and till this date wish I could get my hands on. But in the mean time, I’ve found my own comforting recipe. It doesn’t necessarily fall into any traditional authentic recipe, ‘cuz I’ve put in whatever I could lay my hands on, but I’ll guarantee you that it tastes phenomenal.Very aromatic, great flavours and enough masala proportion to the rice. I usually just make this for 4 to 6 people, but this time

Ingredients

3.5 kgs mutton of small goat (the meat looks pink, if using a big goat, you might have to cook the meat longer till its soft)

2 kgs onions finely chopped

2 kgs tomatoes finely chopped

8-10 green chillis ( use as per taste)

5 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste

1/2 kg yogurt

1/2 cup Ghee

1/2 cup oil

2 tablespoons Mustard oil

2 tablespoons corriander powder

2 tablespoons toasted cumin powder

1 tablespoon fresh garam masala

2 and 1/2 packets Shan Mumbai Biryani Masala

2 kgs basmati rice

2 tablespoons oil

4 bay leaves

5 , 3″ cinnamon sticks

5 cloves

salt to taste

2 teaspoons Kewra essence

2 teaspoons saffron

1/2 cup whole milk

handful of chopped corriander

handful of chopped mint

1 cup onion sliced and deep fried till golden brown

Marinate the meat in 1/2 kg yogurt, 1 packet of the Biryani masala and 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste. Keep aside for an hour.

Now in a huge pot, pour in the ghee and oil and fry the bay leaves and 3 cinnamon sticks. Then add the onions and on medium flame fry till golden brown. Now add the ginger garlic paste, fry for a minute and add the marinated mutton. Now this bit, is where you got to show some muscle. Fry and continuously keep stirring ( Bhuno ) the meat for about 15 mins. And then add the remaining Biryani masala packets and fry for 5 mins and now add the tomatoes, salt, corriander, cumin, garam masala and mustard oil. Give it a couple of more minutes of rigorous stirring and then cover the pot and let it simmer for an hour on low flame.

In the mean time lets prepare the rice. You will need an equally huge pot. Wash and soak the rice for about 1o mins. Then top up the pot with water, it will be excess to the rice, but don’t worry. We will strain out what we don’t need. Add the remaining cinnamon sticks, cloves, 2 tablespoons oil and some salt. Boil together till 3/4th done. Now strain out the rice, shaking of all excess water and spread all of it on laid out newspapers(in a well ventilated place). This will help soak all the water and separate the grain.

Getting back to the mutton, check if the meat is tender, also check for seasoning and add anything you need to now. If its too dry then add some water and give it a boil. You need a good gravy for the rice , so make sure you have enough. Add the chopped mint and corriander, reserving some for the garnish. Now divide the meat between both the pots equally. Now top up with rice, diving it equally. Now heat the milk in a bowl in the microwave. Mix in the saffron, and let the stands release it colour. Add the Kewra essence and pour with a spoon all over the biryani. Now sprinkle the remaining corriander, mint and fried onions. Sprinkle some cumin powder, garam masala and red chilli powder. Cover tightly with a lid and on a very slow flame leave to cook for about 30-40 mins.

Serve hot with some yoghurt /raita.

Salted Caramel & Roasted Almond Clusters

All, Dessert, Featured 4 Responses »

Oct 122012

You think, it would be fun to live with a lady obsessed with baking. Gorging on desserts, cakes n cookies all the time, well yes it does have its advantages, but the downside is , everyone around me is piling on the pounds and I have been given the red alert from my family, to not bake ( for a while at least). For the past two days I’ve been fantasising about making doughnuts, cinnamon n sugar doughnuts, doughnuts filled with custard, chocolate doughnuts, plain doughnuts with frosting … and the works. As I announced my nobel plan, everyone screamt in one voice – Don’t even think about it ! We’re all getting fat. You make you eat it all. Uh – Oh ! Now that doesn’t work for me either. So having suppressed my urges to make doughnuts, I asked, atleast let me make some simple chocolates. You all need a tiny bite after every meal : And I need to make something sweet ! To my relief that was reluctantly accepted. So I kept it simple and basic, and made a tiny batch of plain toasted hazelnut and dark chocolate clusters. Those were a big hit. Got over the next day. Inspired by the easy acceptance and consumption I dared to take it a step further.

This time, I thought let me not announce and ask, rather just make some and see how it goes. Now almonds, chocolate and sugar is something thats always sitting around the kitchen. Put together, its sure to make a wondrous treat. Roasted Salted Almonds coated in Caramel and then dipped in dark chocolate … hmmm, hard to resist. Actually I wasn’t planning a blog post with these, but as I got into making them, it looked so wonderful, I had to run for my camera and capture this to share with you. Simple as it may seem, look and be, its every bit fancy, decadent and delicious.

I started with toasting 250 gms of Almonds in a preheated oven at 180C for about 15 mins. I sprinkled about 2-3 pinches of salt on the almonds and tossed them and set them to cool. In a heavy based saucepan on medium fire, I took 1 cup of sugar. I let the sugar melt , turn light brown and come to a boil. Before the sugar started turning a darker shade, I turned off the heat, put a tablespoon of butter and about 3-4 tablespoons of thick cream. The mixture bubbled up, and I gave it a good stir making sure the caramel sauce was homogenised. The caramel sauce was ready.

Now I tossed all the roasted almonds along with the salt in the caramel, coating them evenly, and spread them out on a silicon mat. Chucked it in the fridge for 5 minutes. In the meantime, I melted about 375 gms of dark chocolate in the microwave. Once the almonds were set, I chopped them up, and tossed them all in the chocolate, mixing them very well and making sure all the nuts were coated evenly.

Mini cupcake liners make the best holders for these little babies. Spoon a little in each or as much as you like. To set them, return to the fridge for 5 mins and then pack them in a air tight container, in the fridge. These do tend to get soft if left out at room temperature for too long, but then again its 38C here, which is insanely hot, so I’ve stored mine in a airtight container in the fridge. You may not have to if its cooler where you are. Making these took barely any time at all, and while these were being spooned in, my little brat was feasting on them, which only meant one thing. They were bloody good !

With Beau Cook (MasterChef) & Carol Selva Rajah

All, Featured, Non-Vegetarian 20 Responses »

Oct 052012

About 3 weeks ago I got a mail from a long lost school mate, asking if I’d like to be a part of a travel n food show. Its with Carol Selva Rajah a celebrated Australian Celebrity Chef and one of the Australian master chef finalists, he said. I was like sure, why not … anything for food. Now I must be really lucky, I blindly said yes, without really knowing the details, All I was told, is that they’d like me to do a little bit of Fusion Cooking. The day after that 8:30 pm sharp, they were at my door – The celebrity chef’s with their filming team. Its only then I realized how big this was, and how fortunate I was to have Beau Cook and Carol Selve Rajah in my house, let alone cooking for them !! They were shooting for this new series – Eat With Your Eyes, that will be out early in 2013. They had toured all over India and covered the food and culture and were now in Mumbai. After filming the popular street food, they were in my house, filming Beau n me, in my kitchen – Cooking ! I cannot even begin to tell you how that felt. I was nervous as hell initially – ya ! first time on camera : it can be pretty unnerving believe you me, plus an amateur home cook, cooking for pros. But it went off so smoothly. It was like one big house party. I didn’t realise where the time slipped by from the moment they entered that door. It was so much fun, just being around them, talking about food, sharing stories and experiences. It was the DP’S (camera man’s) birthday, so we cut a cake, ate, drank, and some part of me wished the night would never end. But as all good thing do, this had too, and thankfully just before they left I remembered to pull my camera out and get a picture of us.

Its only after they left, that I got to see my phone, n realised I had a over dozen messages. Half the girls of the city were envious and would give an arm n a leg to be in my place. Hahahaha … yes it was because of the very talented, extremely kind and sweet, not to mention cute as ever : Beau Cook. Turns out, MasterChef is very popular here, and Beau very famous. So this picture is for you ladies … eat your hearts out … lol :-p

Cherry on the pie is … A little interview with him for you

Me : Five things in your fridge right now ?

Beau : Lamb, chillies, lots of different cheese, lots of herbs and some left over bolognaise sauce

Me : Most memorable Master Chef experience ?

Beau : Going to Italy!! It was amazing to spend two and a half weeks on a food tour with my new MC family.

Me : Most challenging ingredient to cook with ? Why ?

Beau : Chocolate! Its something I never really cook with.. But I think I have my head around the basics now.

Me : Tell a story about your biggest cooking disaster that you turned around into a success. How did you do it?

Beau :I faced an elimination pressure test which happened to be a complex desert (not my strong point!) but somehow got through and pulled off an awesome desert

I just followed the recipe at every point and worked clean and efficient (pays to be clean haha!)

Me : Your dream dinner location? What one dish would you bring to the table?

Beau : It would have to be on a quiet beach in north Queensland, Australia.. And I would serve some delicious bbq prawns and a local wine or beer

Me : One cooking tip you’d love to share with your fans.

Beau : The key to good cooking is balance!! Always taste during cooking and make sure you have a good balance between sweet, sour, salty and spice

Me : Your most favourite thing to cook/make

Beau : Anything on the BBQ. Its an Aussie favourite and you can get pretty creative with it as well.

Carol Selva Rajah, is an award winning author of eleven cookbooks on South East Asian cooking. She has had international success as the first Australian woman invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York, and subsequently on the QE11. She has worked as celebrity chef in hotels in major cities around the world and lectures to students and to interested cooking students and historians. Over the years, Carol has contributed to a diverse range of publications including the Australian Gourmet Traveler. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Living Magazine and Kitchen Culture Food and Travel, Singapore. In 2001, she won the coveted Jaguar Gourmet Traveler Award for excellence in Gastronomic Travel for “Day trips to Asia” in Cabramatta which have become a template for other food tours today. Carol divides her time between Malaysia, Los Angeles, California and Sydney writing, teaching and pairing spicy Asian food with beer. She conducts yearly lectures to culinary historians in the US and is in the process of doing a couple of television shows. Carol, was very sweet, warm and I felt comfortable around her instantly. She’s a lady of great experience and yet so humble. She was too kind to give me an autographed copy of her book “Malaysian Cooking” from which I made Sambal Oelek today. The sauce was so good and it took no time at all to prepare it. Its so versatile, that you could make Prawns, Fish anything you like in it. Its great even on its own as a dip. I had some chicken so I just marinated it for a couple of hours in it, and made it a bit saucy-curry style to have it with steamed rice. Sambals are popular in Malayaisa, Indonesia, Singapore, Phillipines, Sri Lanka … Its a paste made from red chillis. I remember I fell in love with it last year, when our family went on one of our many Phuket Holidays. I bought back a jar from there, but after making this I would be silly if I ever bought one again.

Sambal Oelek

24 Red Chillis

2 onions ,sliced

10 cloves of garlic

2 inch piece of ginger

2 teaspoons of soft/shaved palm sugar

200 ml rice vinegar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil

Just grind all these ingredients together to form a smooth paste. In a sauce pan, bring to a boil and cook for 5 mintues till the water from the onions evaporates and the sauce reduces a bit. You can cool the sauce and store it in the fridge . Great for marinades and dips.

Chicken Sambal Oelek

Take one whole chicke, jointed and cut into pieces, Make gashes all over so that the sauce seeps deep into the meat. Take a few tablespoons of the sauce and rub it in the chicken and let it marinate about 2 hours.Take some oil in a non stick pan, and stir fry the chicken, making sure it gets colour on all sides. Now pour some more of the sauce , mix well and cover with lid. Let the chicken simmer for about 20 mins or till its done. Now lift the lid and check for seasoning. Add some light soy sauce and a pinch of salt if required. Serve with steamed rice.

This is a spicy dish

Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

All, Baking, Featured 10 Responses »

Oct 022012

Last week Gabrielle, a very dear friend of mine, who moved to New York a couple of years ago, visited me here in Mumbai. She always wanted to visit India, and since she’s getting married next month, she decided to make this a shopping cum holistic trip. After attending a months course at the yoga ashram in Kerala, she landed here to catch up with me and get some wedding shopping done. Since she already had her bridal jewellery sorted by her inlaws, she was keen on getting some beautiful info-western fusion wedding gowns. My sister makes the most beautiful wedding lenghas and gowns, and Gabby couldn’t ask for anything more. Actually she did – she asked me to bake for her !

Recently my inlaws travelled to Istanbul, and brought back gifts for everyone from their travels. Knowing what a hopeless foodie I am, they got me a KILO of Hazelnuts. Yup a whole kilo. How apt ! I was saving them for the right occasion and recipe, and luck favoured Gabby : its her favourite nut and I had plenty. Now I was torn between making rich sinful chocolate hazelnut brownies or plain hazelnut cookies. Knowing the brownies would be heavy on the calories I didn’t want her to gain those extra pounds before the big day, and yet I had to bake something a little more than just plain old cookies. So I picked Crinkle Cookies. Having made the regular chocolate crinkle cookies many times, ( which I’m wondering why I haven’t shared on the blog yet : I will do soon ) I knew are simply irresistible.

They are crispy on the outside but with a soft chewy centre and loaded with nuts.This is where a brownie meets a cookie, the best of both worlds. The recipe calls for a jar of Nutella and 2 cups of roasted hazelnuts. There is no need to add extra chocolate, as the Nutella is enough. I used this recipe, but I had to change it to my needs. A rule for baking cookies is always do a test batch first. Never blindly follow the recipe, as ovens differ and you may not want to risk all your cookies. Try baking one or two just to make sure you get it right, before you bake the whole batch. My first two batches resulted in black bottomed and hard cookies. So I kept the cookie batter in the fridge for a couple of more hours and baked them at a lower temperature for a few minutes longer. The result is in front of you. Bake them to believe me.

Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cups Nutella
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/3 cup milk
2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the dry ingredients : flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat the Nutella, butter, and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes with an electric beater. Add the eggs, vanilla, coffee and mix until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and alternate additions of flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour, and mixing until just combined after each addition. Fold in ½ cup of the chopped hazelnuts. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 2-4 hours. 8 hours worked best for me.

Preheat oven to 160 C. Line your baking trays with baking paper. Place the remaining hazelnuts and the powdered sugar in two separate bowls. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll the dough into balls, roll in the hazelnuts, then roll in the powdered sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until the edges are set and the middle still looks a little soft, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, to jazz them up, drizzle with some Nutella.

Thomas & Friends Cake

All, Featured, Miscellaneous 7 Responses »

Sep 102012

3 I think is a wonderful age. The little ones are not so little anymore, growing into little individuals & getting smarter and cuter by the minute. Its that stage when they (boys specially) have found their diction and cannot stop amusing you with their stories, their questions and answers … They are undoubtedly naughtier, but they are also more independent, fully toilet trained, they eat better and are even responsible. They are very affectionate and not shy or ashamed of saying ” Mamma I love you ” and you can kiss them and squeeze them and they won’t fuss. I know this pleasure is short lived, and before you know, they’ll be all grown up and will go, ” Yuk ! Mom don’t embarrass me, or Mom please don’t kiss me in front of everyone !” Haha don’t we all wish they’d remain this age for a long time, so we could cherish them for the longest time possible !?! At 3 they still ask for your hand when walking and still think that an afternoon doing groceries or buying doors is the best plan ever. They’re easily satisfied opening and closing all the doors of the store or running up n down the escalators. One bag of chips in their hands and they’re content. I can’t imagine when the time will come where I’ll be bargaining with the little one, hey how about the iPad 6 instead of the iPhone S 2018 or whatever the latest thing would be then. These are beautiful days, and I’m soaking in every moment of it. Enjoying being a mother.

My son turned 3 this weekend, and he wanted a Thomas Train party. Its his new obsession and he’s been going crazy about all things Thomas. He insisted ofcourse on a Thomas Cake, and I believe the heart of a party lies in a good cake. The cake has got to be the star attraction. I’m so crazy about birthday cake, that I’m probably one of the few adults at a kiddie party waiting for the cake to be cut so I can get my slice. And if the cake does not live up to my expectation, I’m not giving the party a all 10. A birthday cake for me is a traditional buttercream frosted cake. I’m crazy about buttercream. Its sweet as hell, but I love it. Cake here in India, is usually sweeter than the cakes I have in Hong Kong and Japan. In fact much sweeter, and the culprit is a thick over sweet ganache and sugar syrup and sometimes, a bad cake itself. So its very difficult so find someone who does the perfect cake. I could’ve baked myself, but truth be told, I’ve never done a 5 kg cake and I don’t know head nor tail of sugar craft and decorating. And without that a birthday cake is no fun. There is however one lady who is marvellous at it. In fact so good, you’d probably think the cake was flown down from one of those fancy stores in the US. She has a cute little store tucked in the by lanes of Bandra -Pali Hill, which goes by the name of Butterfly Cupcake. If you’d had the good fortune to sample one of her cupcakes, you’d know what I’m talking about. Shaana Gwynne, the woman responsible for making my son the best cake anyone possibly could. It looked so good and tasted even better. The detailing done with the sugar craft, the cake design, the finish and the taste were all top notch. So this post is a big shout out to Shaana, saying Thank You for the lovely cake, you made Rian’s day and mine too. Its a day after the party and I cant stop stuffing my face with it. I’m at fridge door every 30 mins carving out a slice, ‘cuz I just cant get enough of it.

The Ultimate Instant Iced Coffee

All, Drinks, Featured 8 Responses »

Sep 072012

The Ultimate Instant Iced Coffee in just about 80 seconds

A video you must watch ‘cuz its quick, its no mess and its cheap – why pay Rs.200 or $4 for a iced coffee when you can do it at home for a fraction of the cost. I know many of you will probably turn your heads and say this is not how coffee is done, but trust me I’ve tried pouring coffee over ice as to the ice going in the coffee and its tastes exactly the same. Atleast with instant coffee. Once you start making your coffee at home, you are not going to like the ones served outside. I honestly don’t. There are times I need a coffee so bad, yet I wont settle for a Cafe coffee … I’ll get home n make my own.The trick (is pretty obvious) in this one is to get really good instant coffee. And Nescafe is surely not it. Actually I don’t like Nescafe at all, but you could try any brand you like. I’ve been using this coffee called BRU here in India, and trust me it would give nescafe a run for it money. And just so that you know what I’m talking about, I’m giving a free pack of this coffee, to one lucky winner who leaves a comment. Its for those out of India to know how good this Indian coffee is, and my Desi friends please just go buy a pack, its all over the place. I’ve always been a ground coffee girl, but there are times when you have so little time, and you need that caffeine in your system immediately. This coffee is for ideal for those times. If you are worried that hot coffee with melt the ice and dilute the taste, yes that would happen, but then again we’ll be making a strong shot of coffee so we actually do need to dilute it a little. And with all that extra ice going on top, your coffee is guaranteed to be chilled.

For those of you who love to get into the coffee making process with different coffee beans and ground coffee, in my next post I will talk about making iced coffee with the “cold brew” and thats equally easy too, just need to be prepared a little ahead of time.

Ingredients

please adjust to your taste

3/4th tablespoon strong instant coffee

1 heaped tablespoon caster/regular sugar

about 5-6 tablespoons of boiling water

lots of ice

full fat/skimmed milk

Take a tall glass, put the coffee and sugar. Pour in the boiling water and give it a good stir to make sure the sugar dissolves. Add a few ice cubes and stir again, cooling the mixture. Top with with the rest of the ice and pour some milk on top. Ta Da ! Its as simple as that.

Plum Frangipani Tart

All, Baking, Featured 13 Responses »

Aug 292012

As a kid I never liked plums, they’re sour, tangy and why would I want to torture my myself for that little bit of sweet flesh within. Just not worth it. But as I grew older, with my fathers persistence and evolving taste buds, I began to accept the fruit. Not that I’m crazy about plums, but when in season I do have some. The past two days have been very gloomy and the rains have been pouring like there’s no tomorrow. Weather like this either makes you want to eat or sleep. So yesterday my friend invited me to her place for some hot tea (which is perfect in this weather) and steaming hot Sabudana Wada’s ( sago and potato croquets) and also to see the new furniture she had bought. She just renewed the entire dining area with beautiful oak furniture pieces. The dining table could easily sits six people and on the walls there were matching oak drawers that would be perfect for buffets. You can click here to get an idea of the type of furniture I’m talking about. And as usual I found myself wandering into her kitchen and rummaging her fridge. That’s when I saw a lovely bowl of plums sitting right in front of me and realised the season has slipped by n I still haven’t eaten any plums. So this afternoon, I ran to the market hoping I’d get some, and lucky I was. The fruit vendor said, there were the last of the season. On my way back I already knew what I wanted to make. My Plum Pistachio n Cardamon Cake is usually a safe bet and always turns out great. Today I wanted Tart. A nice frangipani filled centre with these sweet and tangy plums on top. Just make sure the plums aren’t too tart and if they are toss them in Vanilla Sugar and leave them till they turn sweet.

For the tart shell use this recipe. It makes 2 tart shells of 13″ X 4″

For the filling

170 gms Almonds ( blanched, dried and ground to a fine paste )

150 gms caster sugar

150 gms butter (softened to room temperature )

2 medium sized eggs

7-8 plums stoned and sliced

3 tablespoons vanilla sugar

Start with getting the tart shells ready. You could do this a day before. For the filling, blanch the almonds, remove the skin, dry the nuts and grind them. Beat together the icing sugar and butter till light and airy. Add the ground almonds and the eggs one by one. Give the mixture a good mix and put it in the fridge to cool for about 30 mins. In the mean time, stone the plums, slice them and toss them in Vanilla sugar. This should take away the tartness.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Spoon the filling into the tart shells evenly and arrange the plums on top. Bake for about 40 mins. Thesides should be golden and centre should be set , but if its slightly wobbly don’t worry, it will firm up on cooling. Garnish with some slivers of pistachio and serve with some lovely vanilla ice-cream.

Apple Cake

All, Baking, Featured 17 Responses »

Aug 212012

If you’re the kind who is thinking about dessert at the last bite of your meal, then you’re reading the right post. Buying desserts n cakes from outside is not very common in my house. I usually prefer making all things my sweet tooth desires. Baking is so simple and so rewarding and the cakes made at home are so much better than store bought ones. You have full control over the quality of ingredients and you probably can make a whole cake (small if not big) for the price of one slice outside. The entire house smells delicious and will make the neighbours pop their heads in to ask whats baking, plus everyone at home will be looking forward to eat that gorgeous cake you made. I’m all about using simple recipes to create that magic in my kitchen. And this Apple Cake is no exception, its everything you’d expect from a home baked cake. One thing I do recommend is investing in an good oven. Once you have one, you’ll want to bake at the drop of a hat. Trust me. I’ve been planning to move into my new house, for a while now, but its taken a bit longer, but the bright side is, I’ve had the time to look out for the best of things for my new kitchen. My heart lies in the kitchen, so I know I’m going to spend the most there. I’ve looked up everything from cookware, kitchen appliances to countertops, sinks, cupboard fittings, light fittings …. all of it. Its too much of a headache to do everything myself where these days there are such beautiful options of ready fitted kitchens. One of my prize finds was this place which gives free appliances with fitted kitchens. I couldnt possibly do a better job myself, in the time and money. Which leaves me with more time to do the one I think I adore most – Bake. I made this cake for a little get together we were having at home. Apple and cinnamon is a match made in heaven and I decided to make this as I was craving a good apple pie but didn’t want to eat the heavy pastry. This cake is light, not to sweet and delivers.

Ingredients

5 apples (chopped, peeled and cored)

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

5 Tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

Juice of one lime

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ non stick loose bottom cake tin. Combine apples with cinnamon and sugar, coating well and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, lime juice, sugar and vanilla. Combine this mixture with the dry ingredients, then add eggs, one at a time. The batter will be quite thick. This is when you add the milk. Mix well. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Coconut Caramel Candy

All, Featured, Miscellaneous 7 Responses »

Aug 182012

Having had my share of baking lately, I wanted to try something I hadn’t made before. It still had to be sweet and not too tough. Recently my cousin had sent me this lovely bottle of cooking coconut oil which I wanted to use, and today I got my chance. I always thought coconut oil was good for hair but little did I know its other benefits. Coconut Oil is ideal for Cooking. Studies show that it is better for you than many of the other options on the market. Plus, it can help you with the good cholesterol that your body needs. We tend to always think of cholesterol as something bad but that doesn’t have to be the case.Many people like to cook with olive oil, but it is expensive. It is no secret that the economy is tough so people have to make cut backs where they can. Every dollar at the grocery store should be carefully calculated. The use of coconut oil for cooking can help you to get value in terms of your health and for taste. At the same time, it can help you to cut back what you are spending on items when you go shopping at the grocery store.There are several brands out there that you can select from, and that will influence the quality of what you get. It is a good idea to carefully evaluate the options on the market so that you can get something that works very well. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing ploys or the packaging. Read reviews online to find out what you should consider buying and what you should stay away from when it comes to coconut oil for cooking. One of the best coconut oils you can buy on the market is from Coconut-Oil-UK.Com. Some of the products offered are organic, and that can be something you are interested in to promote even better health benefits. Make sure you always read the labels carefully. There is both refined and unrefined options too, and there isn’t any evidence to suggest one may be better than the next. If your family enjoys sweets but you don’t want them to have all the bad that comes from them, change the recipe with coconut oil. You can use it to replace butter and Crisco to make pies, crusts, cookies, and more. If you want to encourage your family to eat more veggies, sauté them in a skillet on the stove with coconut oil. The taste is very pleasing and one that may even get your picky eaters to ask for seconds! The food you cook will taste different and it will smell different when you cook it with coconut oil. Most people find the smell and taste it creates to be very appealing. They seem to enjoy their food more and they feel great knowing that they have taking a small but significant step in eating healthier overall.

A little search on coconut oil and I found me a nice recipe that reminded me of my days in Ghana. These beautiful Amber coloured chewy candies are a household treat and unimaginably delicious. the flavour of the coconut is so mild and the caramel just perfect.

And on this sweet note and the Holy Occasion of Eid-ul-Adha may the blessings of Allah lighten up your way & lead you to happiness, success and peace A very Happy Eid Mubarak to all of you.

Ingredients

adapted from Saveur

2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted, plus more for cutting caramels
1-16 oz. can coconut milk
¾ cup corn syrup
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water

Instructions

Line the bottom and sides of an 8″x8″ square baking dish with parchment and brush with coconut oil; set aside. Combine the coconut milk, corn syrup and sea salt in a 4-quart saucepan. Heat over medium low, stirring constantly for 2½-3 minutes until mixture is just warm and any coconut milk clumps are dissolved.Remove from heat and set aside. In an 8-quart saucepan, combine the sugar and the water and stir until sugar is wet. Place over medium high heat and let cook, without stirring, till the sugar turns a light amber colour. I made these by judgement as I did not have a candy thermometer. This should roughly take 10 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and pour melted sugar into the coconut milk mixture, a little at a time. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble and splash. Return saucepan to medium low heat, stirring continuously until all the caramel is dissolved. Raise the heat to medium high. If the mixture begins to boil over, reduce heat and continue to cook, stir continuously, and cook until caramel becomes quite thick. This could take a good 15 minutes. But just make sure the caramel is really thick. Immediately remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool completely and cut into 1″ squares. Mine were a bit sticky so I put them in the fridge to set a little.Make it easier to cut them.Brush your knife with melted coconut oil between cutting to avoid sticking. Wrap individually in wax paper squares. Store at room temperature.

Orange Date Madeleines

All, Baking, Featured 13 Responses »

Jul 312012

Just as Ramadan and fasting are synonymous, so are Fasting and Dates. You will not find any household that is observing the holy month of Ramadan without dates. Dates have a great significance, and the tradition of eating them go back to the 7th century. I won’t give you a lesson in history about them, but I will tell you why they are the best thing to have after fasting . During the period of Ramadan, when fasting lasts from sunrise to sunset, the body can develop mild health problems such as headaches, low blood sugar, and lethargy. To avoid such problems, one should carefully monitor their eating habits once fasting for the day has ended. Dates are an excellent source of fiber, sugar, magnesium, potassium, and have carbohydrates which will aid the body in maintaining health. The carbohydrates found in dates also make the fruit a slower digesting food, much better than fried or fatty foods which digest fast and leave one hungry for more!

Having told you that, here’s how the inspiration for these madeleines came about … Every evening at Iftar ( fast breaking time) our table has these staples – Dates, Oranges, 1 other fruit and a soup or a snack. A week into fasting and I’m already bored of the regular and was thinking tomorrow I want to break my fast with cake. Well as you might already know I simply adore cake, and I believe life is too short and one must have cake everyday. In any form or shape. A layered cake would’ve been too much, so I thought madeleines would be prefect bite sized cuties. Flavours … why not do the Ramadan theme … Dates n Star Anise and to add that zing the oranges ! I have to tell you this recipe is a keeper. Its probably the magic of Ramadan that makes everything taste so good and perfect, but these Madeleines turned out really unexpected. They are soft , just perfectly sweet with that light hint of the star anise and the orangey flavour kicks right in. My perfect Ramadan Madeleines

Ingredients

makes 24 madeleines

150 gms pitted and chopped dates
3 tablespoons of your favourite orange marmalade (make sire they have those delicious orangey bits in them )
200 ml hot water
1tsp Soda Bi Carb
2-3 Star Anise
pinch of salt
170 gms flour
60 gms cane sugar
60 gms butter
2 large eggs
1tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease the Madeleine tins with butter and set aside.

Place the chopped dates & star anise a bowl and pour boiling water straight out of a kettle onto it. Mix in the marmalade and soda bi carb and let it sit for about 10 mins. Meanwhile cream the butter and sugar with light and fluffy. One by one mix in the eggs well. Now add the date mixture ( first remove the star anise) and give it another good mix. Gently fold in the sifted flour and baking powder, not knocking out too much air. Now fill the molds 3/4 full. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for about 15 mins. Repeat if using a 12 mold tin. This batter makes exactly 24. Sift lightly with caster sugar when ready to serve.

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